The Last Guardian - Great Expectations

It's 2AM. The coffee table is hidden beneath energy drinks, crisps and leftover kebab. My eyes are half open, my body clock is ruined and copious amounts of Red Bull have frighteningly changed the colour of my urine, but this is no time to seek medical advice. “Our first game tonight has been long anticipated by the gaming community.” Those were the words of Shawn Layden, President and CEO of SCEA, as he opened Sony’s E3 2015 Media Briefing.

A little boy runs out, soaked by the sun overhead, and gazes upon the seismic, decrepit ruins that surround him. An animal, seemingly a crossbreed between man’s best friend and a creature of an avian variety, follows the young child at his command. Like a man and his dog, the two share a distinct bond, and their unique relationship allows to them to advance in their travels, albeit slowly.

This is The Last Guardian. Six years after its initial reveal, Fumito Ueda’s follow up to Shadow of the Colossus has finally re-emerged. In those six years, PlayStation fans have been devoid of news, message boards have been littered with fan speculation and various rumours of cancellations have circulated. To the surprise of many, The Last Guardian is very real, but could seismic expectations undermine its release?

Team ICO are the antithesis of most modern developers. In an era of annualised franchises, stagnating sequels and the oversaturation of certain genres, they have coasted through an entire console generation without a single new release to their name. In fact, since the release of their last game, there have been two Grand Theft Autos, three Mass Effects, four Halos and eight Assassin’s Creed games, with number nine set to release before The Last Guardian’s arrival. Few developers have the cache, fan base or prestige to be entirely absent for a decade, yet still be met with joy and adulation at their reappearance. Fumito Ueda and his team are part of this exclusive club.

With that having been said, one can argue that The Last Guardian warrants the level of expectation and hype that it is receiving. The desolate plains, unique boss battles and heart-wrenching story secured Shadow of the Colossus’ place in the annals of videogame history. It is, for many people, the greatest game of its generation; a game that has not been matched for the better part of a decade, on an artistic level at least. Many a list has been conducted, and Shadow of the Colossus is almost always present on the podium. Its predecessor, ICO, though not as well received, still evoked a sense of companionship and friendship that is a clear inspirer of The Last Guardian.

Given this clear adoration, the reveal of The Last Guardian in 2009 was met with overwhelming positivity. However, the circumstances of its development have not been smooth. Numerous delays, and even strong rumours of cancellations, signalled a premature death for Trico and the boy. The Last Guardian was placed alongside Half-Life 3 and Shenmue 3 as a fabled title that would remain a distant memory (two down, one to go).

Its re-reveal this year was met with a combination of excitement and relief, but the drought of news in the interim has elevated the levels of excitement and desperation to unattainable heights. The Last Guardian was always going to carry a heavy weight of expectation, but its long absence serves only to increase the already heavy burden that sits prominently on its shoulders.

Can overhyping kill a good game? In most cases, yes. Every year, we’re told that several games are going to be the ‘biggest and best’ that they’ve ever been, with brand new features and shiny new graphics. Once the proverbial dust has settled, the promises of developers and hands-on previews of the media have resulted only in disappointment; this is of course not true in every case, but it’s undoubtedly a growing occurrance.

“Why don’t you just ignore them?”

As an actively involved member of the gaming community, it’s incredibly difficult to avoid the suction of the hype machine. A combination of a childlike desire to play incredible new experiences and the infectious words of peers and colleagues are often the recipe for disappointment. It’s half self-loathing, half frustration at the overexposure of certain games.

Given its unique circumstances, every movement of The Last Guardian will be carefully monitored and documented but it needs to be allowed some breathing space. This is a game we know almost nothing about; we don’t know any story details, the name of the boy, the intricate details of the relationship of the two protagonists, nor do we know much about the gameplay mechanics beyond running, jumping and pushing -- yet the level of hype it is receiving is equal to, if not greater than, many other well established titles.

Ico never sat well with me. Playing Shadow of the Colossus several years on, I find the controls an insurmountable challenge. I’ve not enjoyed a single game Team Ico has ever released and yet, the peculiarity surrounding the development of The Last Guardian has piqued my interest where previously there was none.

Hype is ultimately an issue of self-control. Overindulging in marketing campaigns, previews and trailers is often the catalyst of a swift change from anticipation to disappointment, irrespective of the quality of the final product.

Although years of silence have left some fans apathetic, others have seen expectations for The Last Guardian heightened to unprecedented levels. But with high expectations comes inevitable disappointment.

Tempering those expectations might be for the best.